How does healthcare work in a time when social media suppresses the desire for personal contact? And where can technology even help in this sensitive area? “Krone” spoke about this with Barbara Lehner on International Women’s Day. The 67-year-old is Superior General of the Elizabethan Order of Women, whose basic mission is to nurse the sick.
With a broad smile, Barbara Lehner welcomes the “Krone” into the conversation on the occasion of International Women’s Day. In 1982 she qualified as a nurse, from 1992 she founded a nursing school and since 2012 she has been superior general of the Elisabethines Linz-Vienna and therefore spiritual head of the hospital of the same name in Linz. Currently, 31 sisters of the order live and work in Linz and six in Vienna. The clergy take on various tasks in the Elisabethinen Hospitals, for example in the field of spiritual care, dietetics or ECGs.
Fewer and fewer sisters
The women’s order has become increasingly smaller in recent years. Not the only change Barbara Lehner notes: “We have lost the fact that we keep things in our hearts and talk about them with trusted people before we make judgments. Nowadays you have to post everything immediately,” she says, referring to social media. The new platforms have also reduced personal contact.
“Fortunately no robots yet”
But this is especially important in nursing, says Lehner: “Patients’ need for human attention has remained. Fortunately, we do not yet have robots in healthcare.” But the preacher emphasizes: “Many technologies are a great blessing” – for example in diagnosis or treatment.
And what can society as a whole learn from Elizabeth’s Order of Women in times of change? “We have a meaningful mission that everyone is working on,” Lehner said. “Caring for each other is important in the community; the community provides safety.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
